Packing can be a real trip | Opinion

About a year after we got married, Jeff and I took a two-week vacation to England and Scotland. All I remember was throwing a few things in a suitcase and getting on the plane, then the buses and trains while we were over there. We had written letters beforehand to a few bed and breakfasts in London, Oxford and Edinburgh so we had places to sleep. And even when we had to change our plans, we just hiked on over to the local tourist office and rebooked somewhere else. It was all so easy, breezy and this was well before the days of the internet, GPS and get this — wheels on luggage. I always wonder what took so long for that idea to come along.

Of course, we had to make sure our passports were in order, but mine was always updated and on hand. The only real preparation we’d needed at the time was to put in for vacation at our jobs. We didn’t even have our dog Murray yet, not to mention our two kids, so not a thought about anything left behind. Just let our parents know when we’d be back. All we needed was to leave our rented apartment (without its own thermostat to set) and lock the door behind us.

So fast forward some 40 odd years and let’s prepare for our latest trip to Spain and Portugal. Believe it or not, we still do travel with only carry-on luggage and, yes, there are surely wheels involved. But that’s where the easy breezy screeches to a halt. Here are some conversations we had with each other and with ourselves while prepping and packing.

“Did you make sure to update your medications and do you have enough to last for the trip?” “How about supplements? Baby aspirin, CoQ10, garlic, fish oil capsules, Cal-Mag?” “Don’t forget to bring extra vitamin Cs, quercetin, and zinc lozenges in case we get colds or find ourselves near anyone sneezing.” “Which reminds me about antibacterial hand sanitizer. I hope they’ll let us on the plane with that.”

“Hey, don’t let me forget my lavender cream so I can sleep and also ointments in case we get a cut and Band-Aids for blisters, and mints and, oh, my herbal tea bags in case the restaurants don’t have any.” “Gee, I almost forgot to take my hat. Are you bringing a visor? And what about sunscreen and lip balm? Do you have that stick kind so we don’t have to worry about taking liquids on the plane?”

“And did you make sure you downloaded WhatsApp on your phone so we can text, and how many chargers should we take?” “Well my phone uses a different one than my Kindle and I must have my Kindle in case the plane doesn’t have little TVs in the seats ahead of us. I’m in the middle of a few good books.” “Where did you put the European adaptors for our plugs?” “And our neck pillows. Can’t forget those. And let's remember to move around as much as we can on the long plane ride and exercise our legs and arms so we don’t get a DVT blood clot or that other kind they talk about on TV.”

“Are you bringing your distance glasses, too?” “No, just an extra pair of reading glasses in case mine break or I lose them.” “In case my knee acts up from all those hills and cobblestone streets, maybe I’ll throw in my pickleball knee strap and my orthotics. Do you think we’ll have to take our shoes off to board? And remember not to take your shoes off on the plane in case your feet swell up. And let’s keep in mind to drink lots of water to stay hydrated because the air is so dry up there.”

“And let’s write notes to remember to have the mail held and the newspaper, and to set the thermostat and humidifier and shut the water valve before we leave.”

We were exhausted even before the Lyft driver came to take us to the airport. Boy, did we ever need a vacation!